Rangers were soundly beaten 4-1 by Lyon at Ibrox on Thursday night in a match that could have ended with an even more humiliating scoreline. Lyon, sitting 11th in Ligue 1, are hardly the dominant force they once were, but still managed to outclass the home side.
Towards the end, they took pity on their opponents, toying with Rangers as they shifted into “passy shoot” mode. Yet, despite the heavy defeat, former Rangers striker Kris Boyd was all smiles in the Sky Sports studio.
Why? Because, in Boyd’s own words, “It’s hard to believe Rangers have lost 4-1 this evening and it’s not even the worst result for a Scottish team in Europe this week.” He quickly turned the spotlight onto Celtic’s 7-1 demolition at the hands of Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, seemingly more content that Celtic had fared worse than upset by his old club’s poor showing.
It’s no secret Boyd has become the poster boy for a group of Rangers fans who will happily accept defeat as long as Celtic get beat by more. After watching his team humbled at home by a mid-table French side, Boyd was more concerned with Celtic’s nightmare in a higher-level competition against significantly tougher opposition. Deary me, there’s being broken, and then there’s this.
We’ve said it on multiple occasions: the best nights for many Ibrox fans come when Celtic slip up in Europe. The reason? When they look at their own team’s performances, especially ones like Thursday night, there’s not much to shout about.
